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Abstract. A flow-sensitive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) microimaging technique was applied to measure directly the in-vivo water flow in 6-d-old castor bean seedlings. The achieved in-plane resolution of the technique allowed discrimination between xylem and phloem water flow. Both the xylem-and the phloem-average flow velocities in the intact seedling could be quantified. Furthermore, the total conductive cross-sectional area of the xylem vessels and the phloem sieve elements could be determined using the non-invasive and non-destructive NMR microimaging technique. Hence, it was possible to calculate the in-vivo volume flow rates for both xylem and phloem water flow. Our non-destructive technique showed that previously used methods to measure phloem water flow affected the flow rate itself. In the intact seedlings we found values of 16.6 pl-h-1, two fold lower than those previously estimated from phloem exudation rates. Finally, our results demonstrate for the first time that water is internally circulated between phloem and xylem, and that water flow within the xylem is maintained by this internally circulated water, even in the absence of any significant transpiration or evaporation.

7Li nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) linewidths and spin–lattice relaxation times for poly(propylene-glycol) complexed with a range of concentrations of LiCF3SO3 are reported over the temperature region from 205 to 405 K. Calculations suggest that the spin–lattice relaxation mechanism is caused by the interaction between the 7Li (I=3/2) quadrupole moment and fluctuations in the surrounding electric field gradients, whereas the line shapes are influenced by both the dipolar and quadrupolar interactions. The motional parameters reported indicate that ion–polymer or ion–ion interactions are important in determining the Li+ cation mobilities. This is reflected in the lengthening of the correlation time with increase in Li+ ion concentration which suggests a decreased mobility for the cations resulting from a transient coordination of the cation to the polymer matrix or ion aggregation. Also, the activation energies in this study (∼0.24 eV) are in agreement with values obtained from recent pulsed field gradient studies suggesting that the NMR techniques employed in this study are approriate methods for probing the dynamics of ion transport on a macroscopic scale in these materials.